Gorilla stars in own home video

Lights, camera, action: this dashing silverback is not what you would call camera-shy. In fact, he's more than happy to give Spielberg a run for his money with his very own home video, below.

27 -year-old Ya Kwanza is one of the most photographed primates at Durrell Wildlife Trust in Jersey. So staff looking after him decided to turn the tables for the day and let him play cameraman.

They placed a high-definition camera in his enclosure, covered with tasty honey and oats and protected by an indestructible box. The gorilla immediately took a shine to the device, and set about capturing some flattering close-ups of himself.

The resulting footage (below) shows Kwanza investigating the camera and meticulously picking out raisins before peeling off the branding on the case. The inquisitive ape then abruptly loses interest and throws the box back to his keeper.

The idea for the video came from one of the charity’s mammal keepers, Jon Stark. Having taken care of the critically endangered western lowland gorillas for four years, he wondered what it would be like to take a look at life from the primate’s perspective.

See Ya Kwanza flaunt his camera talents for yourself in the video, below.